SAO: The Female Black Swordsman
by Shadow-Labrys
Summary: Kirito tries to survive everyday to get back to the real world and live with her cousin, but who knows what comes in store for this deadly virtual world. (Genderbent Kirito)
1. CH 1: Start of A Strange Adventure

**AN: I have planned this one after… I don't know, but this story pretty much follows the anime. It will definitely have its own scenes that's for sure. There definitely will be grammar mistakes as the story goes on and I'll try to fix them when I spot them.**

* * *

The only sound that can be heard for miles is the sound of metal clanging together and screaming. One person runs towards the soldier who knocked to the ground from one of the enemies. She blocked the attack and quickly killed it; she turned around and helped the soldier. "Are you alright?"

"Thanks!" The girl handed him a crystal to help him heal and she ran towards one of the enemies to end this before anyone dies.

"Kirito, I need your help!" She stopped running and went to go help her friends out.

"Finally! You're here!"

"I'm sorry, Asuna, but I was helping everyone I can." Asuna smiled and her attention went back into fighting off the monster in front of her and Kirito ran towards the horde of enemies. She slashed through most of them and made a path for the others to get through. Kirito ran to the boss to weaken it before everyone arrived and she blocked the attack from the boss and slashed at it before it could attack again.

She suddenly heard a voice behind her. "Switch! Kirito!"

Kirito blocked the attack and Asuna sped by and hit it multiple times before Kirito came in and slashed at it also. They land on the ground and looked at them and noticed that everyone was running after them. Kirito quickly looked back and blocked the attack from hitting both of them and Asuna smacks the club out of the boss's hand. Both Kirito and Asuna attacked it while it was confused and they both knocked it to the ground and backed away.

"Good! This is going well!" Asuna started getting ready for it to get back up.

Kirito looked behind them and noticed that most of them are already here. "Great! Now we got back up!" Kirito started smiling before they started the attack.

Asuna ran forwards attacking with all her strength. The Minotaur swung its cleaver and it hit a few of players. The Minotaur swung again, but Asuna blocked it. Kirito came in and slashed at it twice before stabbing it in the stomach. Kirito jumped back and watched its health bar go down at a rapid pace.

"Quick! We almost got it!" Kirito yelled at everyone before she helped everyone. Kirito jumped in the air and ran along its arm and jumped towards its head. Kirito held her sword out and stabbed it in the head.

The Minotaur stopped moving and shattered into pieces. Kirito landed on her feet and looked up. She noticed that she got the boss drop. "Queen's Knightsword?" Kirito quickly went through her inventory and replaced her old weapon and with the Queen's Knightsword. Kirito pulled it out and started swinging it around to test it out. "Nice! Good thing it's a one handed sword too."

Asuna ran towards Kirito after helping everyone recover from the fight. "Kirito!" Kirito turned around to be surprised with Asuna jumping on her and hugging her.

"Whoa!" Kirito grabbed Asuna as they fell to the ground.

"We did it!" Asuna said happily to survive another day.

"Yes we did, but can you let go of me now?" Asuna quickly got off of her.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Kirito said as she picked up her new sword from the ground.

"Is that the boss drop?" Asuna asked realizing that's not the sword she used to use.

"Yeah, it's great!" Kirito sheath her sword and started walking away with Asuna.

"So… how many did we lose this time?" Kirito said with a serious tone in her voice.

"We didn't lose that many this time, maybe like… seven out of thirty-four."

Kirito looked at the ceiling and suddenly heard someone calling her. She turned around to a familiar face running towards her. "Kirito, thank you. If you hadn't come to save me I would've met my end."

Kirito started smiling nervously. "It's no problem really."

"If you didn't give me that crystal I would've met my demise and I wouldn't be with my wife anymore."

"Your wife? Is she in here too?" Asuna walked next to Kirito.

"Yes, we logged in not long before he announced that there's no way of logging out."

Kirito lifted her hand out to shake his hand. "I'm glad I helped when I can." The guy nodded and shakes her hand. Kirito waves at the guy before she left with Asuna and both of them teleport to town for rest. "It's starting to get dark… I'll see ya later."

Kirito started walking towards one of the Inns and Kirito felt something grab her arm and she turned around to see Asuna holding her arm. "What is Asuna?"

"Um… I have a place we could stay and if you want too, you can stay the night with me." Asuna started sounding nervous as Kirito looked at her for a few seconds before she smiled at her.

"Sure, that sounds like it could be fun." Kirito started walking with Asuna who hasn't let go. Asuna looked at Kirito before she looked forwards before she crashed into anything.

"Kirito…"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I was just wondering, why don't you have a place to stay yet?"

Oh, I kinda gave some of my money away to help someone fulfill a quest."

"What was the quest about?"

"Uh, it was to buy something from this merchant so he can defeat a monster that guarded an item that he needs." Kirito stopped when Asuna unlocked the door to her house and both of them walking inside and Kirito looked around the simple house.

"So this is where you live?" Kirito sat down on the lounge chair and she watched as Asuna walked into one of the rooms. She comes out of the bedroom and stood next to Kirito.

"I don't have a guest room, so you going to have… to sleep on the same… bed... as me." Asuna slowly looked away nervously. Kirito looked at her friend and she smiled at her.

"Okay, I guess I could do that."

"Are you hungry? I could cook something for you." Asuna offered as she stood in front of her waiting for an answer.

"Um… No, I'm not hungry. Thanks for the offer." Kirito got up from remembering her equipment as still on her back. She quickly went through her menu and unequipped her sword and took off her coat and she looked around before she went to look for Asuna.

Kirito looked in the kitchen and she watched as Asuna professionally cook everything on the table. Kirito quietly sat down on the closest chair and Asuna waited for the meat to cook and she turned around jumped a bit when she spotted Kirito sitting nearby. Kirito smiled at her before she got up and walked towards her. "What are you cooking?"

"You startled me, I'm cooking a roast," Asuna said as she pulled out the pot and opened the lid.

"A roast?" Kirito stared at the delicious food and Asuna smiled at her. "Uh, do you want some?" Asuna asked.

"Yes." Kirito sat down on the closest chair next to the table while Asuna started placing the food on the plate. Asuna sat down and started eating with Kirito.

"I always wondered, why is your name Kirito? Why not something more feminine?"

Kirito stopped eating the roast and looked at Asuna before she placed the fork down. "Well, I didn't want to get attention from any of the guys; I just wanted to play the game without them messing up things."

"But how would that work? Your avatar's still a female."

"It used to be a male avatar."

"Oh... are they bothering you now?"

"No, mainly because we got something more important."

"Oh right... the game."

Kirito looked at Asuna while she was in deep thought and she got up which broke her out of her world. "I'm going to bed, night." Kirito walked off and Asuna stared at her before shutting everything off and joining her. Asuna quietly opened the door to not disturb Kirito from her sleep and she noticed that she was still up. Asuna watched as Kirito went through her menu and started taking her clothes off. Asuna started at the girl's body and Kirito noticed a presence, she turned her towards the door. Kirito stared at Asuna for few second before she started to blush and covered herself up.

"Um... A-Asuna, W-what are you s-staring at?" Asuna blinked a couple of times before she started blushing.

"U-um... I was j-just... it's nothing!" Asuna panicked and turned around to stop staring at her partner.

"L-Let's just go to bed…" Kirito laid on top the bed before pulling the blanket on top of her. Asuna regained her composure and went through her menu to take her clothes off. Kirito looked at Asuna for a second and a light blush appeared across her face, Kirito's eyes slowly looked down admiring her body before her eyes shot back towards the ceiling.

_'What am I doing?!'_ Kirito quickly closed her eyes to avoid any more awkward situations.


	2. CH 2: Helping Out Others in Need

Kirito felt the sun on her face and she slowly opened her eyes, she stared at Asuna who is sleeping peacefully before realizing that she was holding onto her while she slept. Kirito somewhat blushed as she lifted up Asuna's arm and she started to mumble something that she couldn't hear. Asuna pulled Kirito closer to her and started smiling as she started to mumble again. Kirito tried to move Asuna but didn't budge and she accepted it and did struggle to get out of Asuna's hold.

"…" Asuna started to move around and she opened her eyes to see Kirito looking at her. Asuna looked around and noticed she has her arms around the other girl. she quickly jumped off the bed and she looked at Kirito.

"How long were you awake?"

"I was awake for ten minutes before you woke up."

"Was I h-holding on to you... the whole time?"

"Um… yes."

"I-I'm going out now, I'll see you later." Asuna quickly scrolled through her menu putting on her equipment before heading out. Kirito finally free from Asuna's hold, she started scrolled menu before she headed out also.

Kirito stretched as she opened the door and opened her menu to get to the Quest Logs to see if there is anything she can do. "Well, I could do this, but I don't think I have the right requirements to do them yet." Kirito completely ignored everyone as she was completely absorbed in her Quest Logs that she didn't notice the person who turned the corner. Kirito bumped into the person and fell to the ground.

"Ow, I'm sorry! I should have been watching where I was going." The girl apologized.

"Don't worry about it. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." Kirito rubbed her head before she picked herself off the ground and helped up the girl.

"I'm sorry about that." The girl bowed before she ran off and Kirito shrugged it off before continuing going through her Quest Logs.

* * *

_**Forest of Wandering**_

Kirito walked through the dark forest while looking at the map. "I heard she was in this forest, but she's probably back in town by now." Kirito closed her map and started heading towards the closest town and she heard the sound of something attacking someone. Kirito pulled out her sword and ran towards the direction of the sound. Kirito arrived when she saw one of the three drunken apes smack a small dragon-like creature. She notices a girl grab the small dragon and held it in her arm before it disappeared. Kirito rushed over and quickly attacked them before they could attack the girl; Kirito sheathed her sword and watched as the girl cried.

"Um… what's wrong?" Kirito slowly walked towards the girl.

"Pina… she's gone." She said as she held the feather from her friend close to her.

"I'm sorry; if I arrived sooner I would've been able to save your friend." Kirito apologized.

"Don't worry; it's not your fault."

"Uh, do you mind if I ask for your name?"

"My name's Silica."

"Silica, that feather… does it have an item name?"

"Uh…" Silica touched it as a menu opened and a name appeared. "Pina… yes, it does."

"Then that means it can be revived."

"Really!?" Silica surprised that it is possible to revive her friend.

"Yes. The item you need is called the Pneuma Flower, but it's located on Floor 47."

"Don't worry, I can level up and I'm sure I can make it."

"Yeah, but the item doesn't work three days after the familiar died."

"Oh…" Silica slowly dropped to her knees.

"Don't worry; I'll help you with your quest," Kirito smiled at her while she opened her menu and scrolled through her items. "Here, take these, they'll level you up enough to get by."

Silica looked at Kirito before her attention went to the items that appeared for her to accept. "Why are you helping me?"

"Huh? It's because I like to help people when I can."

Kirito and Silica arrived at the town to get to the Inn to discuss the plan when three people came walking up to them. "Silica you're okay! I was worried."

"Yeah, after you didn't return I thought something happened."

"Can you join our party?"

"I'm sorry for worrying you, but I already agreed to a party with her."

"Oh, come on. Please join us! Your friend can join too." They all freeze up as they noticed Kirito glaring at them and they backed off.

Silica sighed as they walked to the Inn and Kirito looked at her before looking forward. "You seem pretty popular."

"No, they just treat as their mascot. They treat me like that because I'm a beast tamer." Kirito and Silica stopped when they noticed a small group walking towards them.

"Silica, you made it! I'm so glad… what happened to your little friend?"

"Pina… Died."

"Aww, well, that's too bad... and who's your friend here?"

"I'm Kirito."

"Kirito is it... I see."

"Ah, well, we got to go, we got an important quest to do."

"Oh, what is this quest?"

"I'm gonna revive Pina..."

"Oh, so that means you're going after the Pneuma Flower."

"Yeah, see you later." Silica waved at her before dragging Kirito towards the Inn.

"So, who's that?"

"That's Rosalia, we were apart of party shortly before you found me."

* * *

_**Weathercock Pavilion Inn**_

Kirito walked towards Silica's room with a Mirage Sphere in her hands and she knocked on the door. "Hey, Silica! I want to discuss our plan for the Pneuma Flower. Do you have a minute?" Kirito waited as Silica opened the door and Kirito walked in. Kirito started setting up everything before she activated the mirage sphere.

"Here's a map of Floor 47 and the Flower is located here, but there's gonna be a lot of strong monsters."

"Don't worry, you're going to be with."

"You're right, okay-" Kirito looked at the door before she rushed towards the door and opened it to find no one. She heard someone near the stairs and caught a glimpse of someone. Kirito closed the door before she sat down and Silica wondered what was going on.

"What was that?"

"Someone was listening to us."

"I thought they can't listen through unless they knock?"

"If your listen skill is high enough, you can. Whatever let's get back to the task at hand."

"Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Yes, there is actual."

"What is it?"

"The Pneuma Flower needs to be picked by the beast tamer or else it won't grow or be of any use." Kirito pressed a button and the mirage sphere closed and Kirito placed it in her inventory. "Well, let's get to bed, we got a long day ahead of us."

* * *

_**Floria**_

Kirito and Silica arrived at Floria and Silica amazed at all the beautiful flowers all over the pace. Silica ran towards a patch of flower and she kneeled to one of the flowers. Kirito walked up to the small the small girl before getting her attention. "let's go."

Kirito started walking ahead of her before Silica dusted herself off and they arrived at the dungeon. Kirito and Silica continued looking for any monster that might appear and Kirito noticed a vine wrap around Silica's legs. Kirito watched as she being lifted up, Silica screamed and started waving her dagger around.

"Calm down, it's not that tough!" Kirito pulled out her sword to be prepared for anything that might happen. Silica slashed at the vine and the monster dropped her and she stabbed it as she was falling. Silica landed on her feet and looked towards Kirito before looking away.

"Why didn't you help me?"

"I thought you might be able to handle it... and I was right, wasn't I?" Kirito said she placed her hand on top of the small girl head before continuing along the path. Silica ran towards her before she fell too behind and they both encounter monster Kirito quickly finished them off as others started to appear. Kirito blocked it's attack and Silica went in for the kill. They eventually got passed most of the monsters and Kirito waited before putting away her sword.

"Look, it's just over the hill, c'mon." Kirito and Silica started to run over to the Hill of Memories. They both stopped when they saw a pedestal and Silica ran towards it as a flower started to grow.

"I got it!"

"Great, cmon let's get to some place safe before reviving your friend."

Kirito looked at the bridge ahead of them before she turned to the smaller girl and pulled out a crystal. "Here Silica, take this just in case something happens."

"A teleport crystal? Why?"

"If something goes down promise me, that you would get out of here."

"Uhm... okay." Kirito and Silica continued along the path and they looked at the flowing water from the river before Kirito stopped Silica.

"Hey! Why don't come out." Kirito watched as the same girl from last night stepped from behind the tree.

"I'm impressed that you knew I was there."

"Rosalia? What are you doing here?" Silica surprised that she's here.

"Looks like you found the Pneuma Flower, I'll be taking it now."

"I don't think so, I don't listen to orange guilds especially Titan's Hand." Rosalia's eyes widen a bit before smiling smugly.

"You're their leader, aren't you? So, what are you doing here?" Kirito said.

"Silica, you made me so sad when you left the party. Too bad you didn't stay a little longer, you would've ended up like those two."

"Orange guilds!? Then that means you were gonna-" Silica too shocked to continue.

"If you knew who I was, why did you bring her here? Are you stupid or are you just into her?"

"What do you mean?" Kirito raised her eyebrow, confused at her words.

"God, you must be an idiot, I'm talking love idiot!"

Kirito blushed heavily and she readied her weapon. "No! It's nothing like that!"

"Whatever, just hand over the Pneuma Flower now," Rosalia demanded.

"Tch, I'm here for you," Kirito said.

"What are you talking about?" Rosalia confused at what Kirito said.

"Do you remember a guild named The Silver Flags?"

"Oh, those losers. What of it?"

"Well, their leader survived and he looked everywhere for someone to avenge his friends."

"And?" Rosalia said, clearly uninterested.

"Well, I came to avenge his friend and I'm putting you in jail."

"You think I wouldn't come here without a little help?" Rosalia snapped her fingers and several people appeared from behind the trees.

"Kirito, we need to leave there's too many!" Silica tried to convince Kirito to leave, but it ended up not working.

"Don't worry." Kirito pulled out her weapon and walked towards the group of people. The group of people hands started to shake after hearing the name of the person in front of them. Rosalia stared at her men standing there in fear and she started getting angry.

"What are you doing! Go and attack already!" The men gripped their weapons hard before they ran at Kirito. They all attack her one after another and Kirito stood there taking all the hits. '_Tch, this is starting to annoy me.' _Kirito blocked their hits and destroyed their weapon, she lifted her weapon and slashed at them taking out most of their health. Kirito pulled out a large crystal out and showed it to everyone.

"This teleport crystal cost the guy a fortune and I'm sending you to jail... and if you don't comply, I'm just gonna have to use force." Everyone dropped their whatever was left of their weapon and waited for Kirito to teleport them to jail.

"And you..." Kirito rushed over to Rosalia with amazing speed and kicked her to the ground and placed her weapon against her throat. "Do you want to live or die?"

"Tch, go ahead and kill me! It's not like I'll die in real life."

"Do you want to test that theory?" Kirito slowly lifted her sword and Rosalia stared at the girl dressed in black.

"...Fine, I'll go."

Kirito picked her up and moved her towards the other before sending them to jail.

After Kirito teleported them away Silica walked over to Kirito. "You threatened them... Were you actually gonna do anything to them?"

"Nah, it seemed like most of them noticed who I was, so I just that to my advantage."

"Know who you are? Are you famous in here?"

"I'm a solo player who's on the Assault Team. I also kinda received some sort of reputation. I earned the nickname the Black Swordsmen."

"Oh."

"Come on. Don't want to make your friend wait, now do we?"

* * *

_**Taft**_

Kirito walked down the street when she suddenly felt someone wrap their arms around her. Kirito looked at who it was only to see her friend she met since the start of this incident. "Asuna, what are you doing?"

"I haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah, I guess so, but why are you hugging me?"

"Because I feel like it besides, what are you doing here anyway?"

"I'm looking for supplies."

"I know a great place in floor 48 that you could go to."

"Really? What's it called?"

"Lisbeth's Blacksmith Shop."

"Hm... I'm going to have to check it out someday."

"Kirito, do you have a place to stay yet?"

"No..."

"Well, if it's okay with you, why don't you live with me?"

"L-Live... with y-you?" Kirito blushes at the idea of her staying with as she started to remember Asuna's figure. "S-Sure, that sounds like fun."

"That's great! I'll show it now if you want."

"Nah, I still got something to do, but I'll see you later."


	3. CH 3: A New Sword & Something Else

**AN: I decided to take that guy's idea and add at least one more girl to the mix, can you guess who it is? You probably can guess by the end of this chapter. By the way, I planned on doing something like this, but it wasn't going to be until I get to the next arc.**

* * *

Kirito entered the shop and she looked at all the weaponry on display, she leaned forwards inspecting the weapons. "Hmm… good quality, I guess,"

"Welcome to Lisbeth's blacksmith shop!" Kirito turned towards the voice to see a girl with pink hair and is wearing some kind uniform similar to what a waitress wears.

"Oh… hello, I was wondering if you do custom orders." Kirito noticed the disapproved look on her face before she spoke. _'Did I do something wrong?'_

"I can, the thing is that metal prices are kinda high these days."

"I'm not worried about the price; I just want the best sword you can make."

"Well then, what kind of quality sword do you want? If you can show it, I can make it."

"Oh right, hold on a second." Kirito removed her weapon and lifted her hands. "I'm looking for something similar or better." Kirito dropped the weapon and she felt the weight of the weapon, she was amazed at the weapon.

"Whoa! This is the best sword you can get from a monster drop… hmm…" Lisbeth turned around to one of the swords on the wall; she picked up one of them and handed it over to her. Kirito held the weapon in her hands and she inspected the blade. "It could be good…"

"What do you mean, 'it could be good'?" Lisbeth said with a little anger in her voice.

"I don't know if it will be good or not."

"This is the best sword I've ever created! It's a lot better than your cheap little sword."

"Oh yeah? Then do you mind if I test it?"

"Test it? How?" Lisbeth asked.

"I'm just going to test to see how good it is." Kirito pulled out her sword and raised Lisbeth's sword over her head. Lisbeth's eyes widen a bit and tried to stop Kirito.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm testing to how tough it is."

"If you break your sword, I won't be held responsible."

"If it breaks, I'll take it!" Lisbeth's sword glowed before Kirito slammed it on her sword and the blade broke on contact. They both stared at the airborne blade before it falls to the ground; Lisbeth blinks a couple of times as the broken blade shattered and disappeared.

"Ahhh!" Lisbeth screams as she yanks the sword out of Kirito's hand, she held it in her hands and stared at it until it shattered into pieces. Lisbeth dropped to her knees and Kirito laughed nervously as she places her sword on her back.

"I'm sorry if that helps." Lisbeth gets up and grabs Kirito's shirt.

"Why would you do that?!" Lisbeth yelled.

"Well... you did let me do that, besides I didn't know it would break so easily." Kirito tried to defend herself.

"So you're saying it's my fault for my sword broke?! Wait... you were expecting my sword to break that easily!?"

"Uh... no, I'm not saying that, but I did expect it to break to answer your other question..." Kirito laughed nervously again.

Lisbeth places her hand on Kirito's chest to push her away and she felt something that seemed familiar. _'Huh? a girl?'_ Lisbeth thought. She realized that she held her hand there too long and she pulled her hand back. Lisbeth and Kirito stood there with a slight blush on their faces.

"Y-You're a girl?" Lisbeth spoke after she left a little less embarrassed.

"Y-Yeah..." Kirito grabbed a few strands of her hair. "I should really grow this out, but I can't. Also, I don't think this sheath is helping either."

Lisbeth snapped out of it and went back to being mad. "Whatever, back to the weapons. I can totally make many swords that can break yours easily if I had the materials!"

Kirito smiled with a smug expression completely forgetting what just happened. "Oh really? Then that sounds like what I'm looking for, if you can make it, of course."

Lisbeth's face started to turn red with anger from Kirito's attitude. "Of course, I can! If you're saying that, you're going to help me find the materials!"

"Hmm... I should go alone, but I'll help you look. So where is this material you're looking for?"

"On the 55th floor, there's a mountain to the west, home to a dragon that lives off crystals. Rumour has it that it builds up a rare metal inside its body."

"55th floor? I should go alone..."

"Apparently, you need a master smith nearby to get the metal. Plan on going alone now?"

"...Okay, come on then." Kirito patted Lisbeth on the hand before leaving and Lisbeth looked at her with anger. "Oh, by the way, my name is Kirito."

* * *

_**Floor 55**_

Kirito walked by the somewhat narrow path along the cliffside and she heard Lisbeth trying to warm herself up. Kirito quickly went through her menu and she tossed her cloak at Lisbeth. "Huh? You don't need it?"

"I got this to warm me up." Kirito equipped another black coat with a fur lining. Kirito looked back as Lisbeth slightly clings to the cloak. Kirito looked a little confused before shrugging it off; they arrived at the place that had crystals everywhere.

"Wow! It's beautiful." Lisbeth looked at the shining crystals.

"It sure is..." Lisbeth started to skip forward and Kirito grabbed the hood of the cloak.

"Where are you going? Come on, get your teleport crystal ready."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"By the way, I'm handling this part by myself. Once the dragon appears, go hide behind those crystals over there. Don't come out no matter what."

"Why? I'm no amateur, so you could use my help."

Kirito placed her hand on top of Lisbeth's head before continuing past her. "I can't have a friend of Asuna's die, now can I?" Lisbeth placed her hand on the spot Kirito touched before she suddenly heard a roar. Kirito pulled out her weapon and waited for the dragon to appear. The dragon appeared from behind a large crystal and Kirito readied her weapon. The dragon's mouth started to glow blue and fired a strong breath attack; Kirito swung her sword to the side and stopped the attack from doing any major damage. Lisbeth watched in amazement as Kirito was effectively taking on the dragon with little effort.

"Time for your arm!" Kirito jumped at the dragon and cut its arm off.

"Come on and finish it already!" Lisbeth walked out of her hiding spot and the dragon's eyes glowed. It flapped its wings sending strong gusts of wind towards Lisbeth. Kirito jumps off a crystal and ran towards Lisbeth as fast as she can go.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Kirito jumped down the hole which Lisbeth fell into. She grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to her.

"Hold on!" Kirito yelled as they braced for the landing.

Kirito opened her eyes as she laid flat on the ground with Lisbeth on top of her. They both get up and Kirito pulls out two potions, she hands one of them to Lisbeth before drinking the other one.

"T-Thank you, for saving me."

"It's a little early to be thanking me, but you're welcome." Kirito looks up at the top of the giant hole. "We need to get out of here."

"Why not teleport out of here?" Lisbeth pulls out her teleport crystal. "Teleport to Lindas."

Kirito looks at Lisbeth as nothing happens and she picks herself off the ground. "Well, if they don't work, that means there must be another way out."

"How can you be sure? What if this place is designed to kill a player who falls down here?"

"You're probably right."

"You know, you could at least try to cheer me up."

"I'm going to try something."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to run up the wall..."

"What?!" Lisbeth watched as Kirito took a couple of steps back before running full speed up the wall. Kirito ran up the wall with no problem until she felt her foot slip.

"Stupid ice!" Kirito yelled as she fell back down and made a perfect human shaped hole in the ground. "I could have made if I didn't slip."

"Yeah, No."

* * *

They both lay down inside their sleeping bags and stare at whatever sky they can see. "You know, this never would happen in the real world. Staying somewhere I never had been before, with some stranger, sleeping next to each other... and you even tried to run up a wall. You're a real weirdo, you know that." Lisbeth giggled a little.

"It was a good plan at the time." Kirito pouted a little.

"Hey Kirito, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Back then, why did you save me?"

"If you die because of me, I don't think I can live with that. Besides, if a cute girl I knew died, then I definitely wouldn't be able to live with the guilt."

Lisbeth looked at Kirito as a slightly blush slowly appeared and she back at the night sky. Lisbeth slowly looked back Kirito who is staring at the sky and she mustered up the courage to ask. "C-Can I hold your hand?"

"What a strange request... But, sure." Kirito reached out for Lisbeth's hand and she slightly squeezed Kirito's hand.

"It's warm... both of us are just data in a virtual world, but..." Lisbeth decided not to say as she closed her eyes with a small smile on her face.

"Hey?"

"Yes?" Lisbeth opened her eyes.

"Do you know Asuna? You know, the second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath?"

"Yeah. We're good friends. Why do you ask?"

"Well, she's the one who recommended your place."

"You know Asuna?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Well, goodnight."

* * *

Kirito sat there thinking about the material they were looking for. _'Hmm... It lives of crystals... It also builds up a rare metal inside its body...'_ Kirito thought. She started to inspect the area and she picked herself off the ground after putting everything together. Kirito started digging through the snow, Lisbeth slowly gets up and she rubs her eyes. She looked around and noticed Kirito digging, she started wondering what she was up to and she suddenly remembers the night before, she shakes her head before walking towards Kirito.

"What are you doing?"

"Here, look." Kirito pulled out a crystal object. Lisbeth touches it, revealing its name and her eyes widen a bit.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Yeah, I think this is what we're looking for." Kirito tosses the crystalline ingot to Lisbeth. "The dragon eats the crystals, and refines them inside its belly."

"This is good… but why is it here?" Lisbeth asked, a little curious to the answer.

"Well, this isn't a trap. It's a dragon's den."

"Huh?" Lisbeth a little confused as it didn't really answer her question.

"Basically, you're holding dragon poop." Lisbeth looks at the ingot before tossing it back to Kirito.

Lisbeth sighed a bit before realizing what Kirito said. "Hey, you said this is dragon's den, right?"

"Uh, yeah?" Kirito wondered what Lisbeth was trying to say.

"Uh, dragons are supposed to be nocturnal, so that means that it should…" They both realize as they slowly look up and the dragon that sent them down here was flying at them.

"Oh, crap!" Kirito ran towards Lisbeth and lifted her over her shoulders.

"What? Kirito!?" Kirito swings her sword, creating a cloud of snow to hide from the dragon and Kirito runs up the wall with Lisbeth on her shoulders.

"I would hold on tight, Lisbeth!" Kirito jumped back down and stabbed the dragon in the back. The dragon roars and flies upwards at a very fast speed.

"We're almost out!" The dragon flies out of its home and suddenly stops; both Kirito and Lisbeth flew straight up from the dragon's sudden stop. Both Lisbeth and Kirito scream as they fly past the clouds, Lisbeth looks to the side and noticed the sun rising.

"Whoa! It's beautiful!" Lisbeth noticed Kirito reach her hand out towards her, she looked at her and she had this smile on her face which made Lisbeth feel something she hasn't felt before.

_'Is this what I think it is?'_ Lisbeth reaches out and grabbed Kirito's hand. _'Am I… I must be. I haven't felt this way with anyone in my life.'_

"Kirito! You know, I…"

"What?" Kirito could barely hear what Lisbeth was trying to say.

"I think I love you, Kirito!"

_'Did she say, she loved me? Nah, that can't be it.'_ Kirito thought. "I'm sorry, but I can't hear you! Did you say-!"

"It's nothing!" Lisbeth pulled her closer to her and she wrapped her arms around Kirito with a laugh.

"Uh, not to ruin your fun or anything! But I don't know how we're going to survive this!" Kirito looked down at the fast approaching ground.

* * *

_**Lisbeth's Shop**_

Lisbeth placed the hot ingot on the anvil as she pulled out her blacksmith hammer. "A one-handed long sword, right?"

"Yes…" Kirito watched as Lisbeth started to hit the ingot, not too hard or too light, but enough to make it not weak. Lisbeth gave it one final swing and the ingot started to glow red and change forms. The light dimmed and an aqua colored sword lies on top of the anvil, Lisbeth reached out and touched to reveal its stats.

"It's called Dark Repulsor. Considering this is my first time seeing this, I doubt it's listed in the information brokers' directory… Give it a try."

"Okay…" Kirito lifted up the weapon and she swung the weapon, leaving a gold and blue trail.

"H-how is it?" Lisbeth asked nervously.

"It's a good sword! Probably one of the best sword I've ever wield."

"Great!" Lisbeth said completely happy that she likes her sword; Kirito puts her new sword inside its sheath before she put her attention back to Lisbeth.

"Well, with this the job is done. How much is it?"

"Uh, well… you don't have to pay for it." Kirito tilted her head to the side slightly confused.

"Instead, I want you to make me your exclusive blacksmith."

"What do you mean?" Lisbeth looked away a little embarrassed. "Is something the matter, Lis?"

"Wh-whenever you finish hunting in the fields, come here and let me maintain your equipment. Every day, from now on."

"…" Kirito somewhat blushed before it quickly faded. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, because I-I…" They both turn around when heard a door open and Asuna came running in.

"Lis! I was so worried!" Asuna hugs Lisbeth and she wondered why she was acting this way. "My messages didn't go through, and I couldn't locate you on the map. Where were you?"

"Sorry, but I was stuck in a dungeon."

"A dungeon? You? By yourself?"

"No, I went with her." Lisbeth pointed towards Kirito.

"Ki-Kirito!" Asuna surprised and she hugged her. "I was worried sick about you."

Kirito blushed a little bit at the contact and Lisbeth noticed it and her eyes widen a bit. "Don't be worried, as you can see I protected her," Kirito said.

"I was wondering why you didn't come home."

"Home? How do you two know each other?"

"Uh, I live with Asuna and we're part of the front lines."

"I hope you didn't do anything weird with Lis."

"W-Why would I do something weird?"

"Because you're weird…"

"I'm not weird, I just have very creative ideas." Lisbeth watched the two argue and she looked down a little depressed.

"I hope she didn't do anything rude." Asuna turned to Lisbeth

"I broke her sword if that counts as rude," Kirito muttered.

"You what!?" Asuna yelled as she heard Kirito and she took a couple steps back from Asuna, hoping she's not going to do anything.

Lisbeth broke out of her depression and she put up a smile which Kirito instantly knew was fake. "Yeah, it was also my best sword too."

"Ah! I'm sorry…"

"It's nothing to apologize for Asuna." Lisbeth walked a little closer to Asuna and started to whisper in her ear. "It seems like to me, you like her. Good luck, I'm rooting for you, Asuna."

Asuna blushed furiously. "What do you mean by that?" Asuna watched as Lisbeth ran up the stairs.

"Huh? Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry; I need to stock up on supplies. So I'll be out for a bit!"

"What about your shop?"

"I'll leave up to you, see you later!" Lisbeth ran out of the store. Kirito and Asuna looked at each other before Asuna asked what happened.

"Uh, Kirito, do you know why she's like this?"

"Uh… I need to do something important." Kirito jumped up and grabbed the railing to pulls herself up to get through the shop faster.

* * *

Kirito opened the front door and she looked around for Lisbeth. She didn't find her right away. Kirito started thinking of anything to help find her easier, and it popped in her mind. She looked at the tower ahead of her and she ran towards it, quickly climbing the tower. Kirito eventually reached the top and she started to scan the area until she found who she was looking for. She spotted Lisbeth by a stone bridge and she ran down the stair to get to her.

Kirito stood on top of the bridge while looking at Lisbeth who was curled up into a ball. "Uh, you okay?"

Lisbeth stood up and she slowly turned towards Kirito. "You shouldn't have come so soon. If you came a bit later… I would have been back to my usual, cheerful self."

"Lis…" Kirito wanted to know why she was acting like this.

"How did you find me?" Kirito pointed at that tower before answering.

"I climbed it and scanned the whole town until I found you."

"Honestly, you come up with the craziest things," Lisbeth said with a weak smile.

"Well, crazy sometimes works in a crazy world."

"Sorry, I'll be alright." Lisbeth walks near the edge of the water and kneels down. "I think my heart wasn't ready for the adventure I had. So… forget… everything I said."

"Are you acting this way because of what you said during our fall? What did you say? I couldn't hear you." Kirito wondered what she said exactly.

Lisbeth looked at Kirito with teary eyes as she tried to say what she said before. "I-I can't say…"

"Come on, say it. It can't be that bad, right?"

"I-I said, I l-love you…"

"What?!" Kirito surprised at what she said. _'So she did say that.'_

"I didn't want to say it because now you're going to think I'm weird and you're start avoiding me and I don't want that!" Lisbeth looked at the ground with tears starting to stream down her face.

Kirito stood there for a few second before walking over to Lisbeth and she kissed her on the forehead. Lisbeth surprised at Kirito's actions and she slowly looked up at Kirito who is smiling at her. "Wh-what was that for?"

"Because it would be bad if I didn't tell you how I feel."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I feel the same way."

"So that means you're also into women?"

"Yes, a certain someone helped me realize that."

"Uh, who helped realize?"

"It's someone you don't know, that's for sure."

Lisbeth smiled as more tears started to stream down her face again and Kirito walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her. _'I can't believe she's… whatever, I'm just going to enjoy this moment.' _Kirito smiled when Lisbeth returned the hug. "I still can't believe it. Why... Why are you... you know?"

"You know...? Oh, well, I do find you pretty attractive and if I didn't decide now, I'm sure I would regret it later on."

"You don't know how happy you made me."

"I can probably guess."

* * *

**AN: I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any questions I'll answer them, also leave a review to let me know if you enjoy it or not.**


	4. CH 4: A Little Date

Kirito sat on one of Lis' chairs as she waited for her to return. She reached for the teacup in front of her and she stared at the window admiring the view the window provided, Kirito suddenly felt arms wrap around her. She looked behind her to see Lis hugging her with warm, happy smile on her face. Kirito smiled a bit before she started to drink the tea and Lis squeezed her a little bit tighter. Kirito placed the teacup down before Lis released her, Kirito stood up from the chair and turned towards the pink haired girl.

"Thank you for dinner, but I got to go." Kirito went through her menu and equipped her coat.

"Aw, but why can't you stay here?" Lis started to pout

"I'm sorry, I can't. I'm got to go see Asuna."

Lis glared at Kirito. "You better not do anything weird with her."

"W-Why would I do something weird?"

"Because I know you've been with her since the start of SAO. And considering you known her for so long, I'm guessing you told her what 'type' of person you're into? And you most likely have a little crush on her."

"Okay, I did tell her I'm into girls and I may have _had_ a crush on her, but that's in the past. We're just close friends and nothing more." Lis glared at Kirito a little before she reluctantly said her goodbyes to Kirito.

Kirito scrolled through her friend's list which wasn't that big, but still large enough to make it kind of hard to find someone. Kirito eventually found the person she was looking for, she tapped on the name and a map of Aincrad appeared, it zoomed in on one of the higher floors they made it to. Kirito nodded and headed towards her friend's house to see the how the new place looks like.

* * *

Kirito walked through the large city looking at the map to find Asuna, she eventually found the house and she was impressed by how it looks. She knocked on the door and waited for Asuna to answer; she waited but didn't get an answer. _'She must be asleep.'_ Kirito thought as turned around when suddenly the door opened behind her.

"Oh, Kirito, you arrived. What took you so long?" Asuna asked.

"I had dinner with Lis."

"When did you get so friendly with her?"

"I saved her life, so she wanted to repay me," Kirito answered.

"Okay then, come on, I'm going to show you where your room is." Asuna leads her way down the hallway. Kirito watched as Asuna opened the door to her new room. Asuna flicked on the lights and Kirito looked at the simple bedroom which wasn't much but is better than any Inn she slept in.

"I'm sorry if it isn't exactly welcoming, but I didn't think I would be living with anyone else."

"Don't worry about it; I'll just go buy some furniture when I have the time." Kirito stood next to her new bed and she lifted her hand to take her equipment off, but she stopped herself when she realized Asuna was still in the same room.

"I'm a little tired so, I'll see you tomorrow." Asuna realized what Kirito was talking about and walked out of the room. Kirito scroll through her menu taking off her coat and her clothes, she changed into her pajamas. She crawled into her bed and stared at the ceiling trying to go to sleep, but couldn't. "Why did I say I was tried?" Kirito sighed before closing her eyes.

* * *

Kirito scrolled through the town with nothing to do when a message suddenly appeared in front of her. She noticed it was from Lis and she lifted her hand to see what it says. "Kirito, are you up to anything? If not then meet me at my house." The message reads.

"I'll go see her after I get my things for my room." Kirito closed the message and made her way towards the teleport plaza. On her way towards the teleport gate, she felt something land on her shoulders. "What?" Kirito noticed a familiar blue feathered dragon resting on her shoulder. Kirito smiled and patted Pina's head before she heard the owner calling out her name.

"Pina! There you are!" Kirito turned towards the sound of the voice and she smiled again after seeing a friend.

"Kirito?! I'm sorry! I hope Pina didn't bother you." Silica bowed a little.

"Pina can never bother me." Kirito again pets Pina which she enjoyed. "If you don't mind, Pina, but I got somewhere to go." Pina flew off of Kirito's shoulder and onto Silica's.

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking? Where are you going?" Silica asked.

"I'm gonna go meet with a friend," Kirito answered.

"Oh, you should be going then."

Kirito nodded before she continued onwards, she stopped and turned to Silica. "Hey, Silica!"

"What is it, Kirito?"

"If you ever need help, I'll gladly be the one to help."

"Thanks, Kirito." Silica waved at her before leaving.

* * *

_**Lis' House**_

Kirito knocked on the door and waited for Lis to answer, she started to hear the sounds of rushed footsteps. Lis opened the door and wrapped her arms around Kirito, she almost fell over from the sudden embrace. "Whoa, Lis! It's only been a night since we were apart."

"I know, but I'm just happy to see you!" Kirito chuckled a bit before she released herself from Lis' grip.

"What did you want, anyway?"

"What? Is it wrong for a girl to see her girlfriend?" Lis said. _'It's still going to take some time to get used to saying that.'_

"I guess not..."

"Anyway, I wanted you to do something for me."

"What did you want me to do?"

"I want you to come with me to floor 47."

"Floor 47? That's where Floria is located, why do you want to go there?" Kirito asked.

"We're going on a date!" Lisbeth said with excitement in her voice.

"A date?"

"Yes! Now, come on!" Lis grabbed onto Kirito's arm and started to drag her out of her house.

* * *

_**Floria**_

Lis pouted a little as she smashed the monster in front of her. Kirito noticed Lis' upset face and wondered what is wrong. "What's wrong, Lis?"

"When I said a date, I didn't mean this..."

"Oh, don't be like that," Kirito said as she finished off her monster. "The reason we're doing this is because I won't always be there to protect you, I really do want to stay beside you, but I am on the assault team and I don't want to lose you."

Lis felt a faint blush on her cheeks, but it quickly went away. "But still, I wanted to go somewhere nice."

"Well, there's flowers everywhere," Kirito said hoping that would be enough.

"That's not good enough!"

"Alright, alright, we'll go somewhere next time." Kirito offered.

"Fine, but I'm picking the place."

"Alright, let's just continue with what we're doing."

Kirito sheathed her weapon after killing quite a few monsters, she sighed before she turned towards Lis. "So, Lis, did you level up a bit?"

"Yes, at least twice," Lis answered.

"Good!" Kirito smiled.

Lis slouched after fighting monsters for such a long time. "Man, I'm so tired."

"Well, do you want to go home or something?"

"Come on, I'll cook you something. I may not look like it, but my cooking skill is... pretty good."

"Really? Then I can't wait to try it." Kirito said as she started to get excited.

* * *

_**Lis' house**_

Kirito sipped her tea while she waited for the food to be finished. "Ah... nothing more refreshing than having a nice cup of tea," Kirito said to herself.

Lis walked out of the kitchen and placed the food down. Kirito looked at the food which looked surprisingly delicious considering she didn't think anyone besides Asuna who would work on cooking skill. "Here you go, Kirito! Dig in!"

Kirito looked at the food as she started to take anything that looked the most delicious which happened to be everything. Lis watched in amusement before she took her share. After a while, Kirito leaned against her chair with a full stomach. "How was it?" Lis asked.

"It was pretty good!" Kirito said.

"I'm happy to hear that!" Lis smiled happily at Kirito's words. _'though it was lot of trial and error.'_

"I'm going to bed now," Lis said.

"Oh, well, I got to go see Asuna. I'll see you later." Kirito said as she made her way towards the door,

"Wait!" Kirito stopped and looked at her, wondering what she could want. "Um... can you sleep here... tonight?"

"I don't know, I do need to fix up my room." Kirito started to think if she should or not.

"At least stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Okay, I guess I can do that." Lis and Kirito make their way towards Lis' room. Kirito sat on Lis' bed which was quite comfy. Kirito turned around only to notice Lis was only wearing a pair of shorts and a plain white buttoned up shirt which was revealing a little more than Kirito ever expected to see.

Lis noticed Kirito's blushing face and giggled a little before she sat on her bed. "Well, are you going just sit there or are you gonna lay down down with me?" Kirito slowly laid down next to Lis and she wrapped her arms around and she let out a content sigh. Kirito enjoyed the contact, not in her life she would have thought she would be doing this with someone. Her good times stopped when she felt Lis snake her hand towards her chest. Kirito blushed furiously as Lis crawled on top of her.

"Uh, L-Lis, what a-are you doing?" Kirito asked extremely nervous.

"Kirito, why don't we try something?" Lis ignored Kirito as she went ahead with what she was doing.

"Don't you think this is taking it-" Kirito was interrupted by a kiss.

* * *

_**Elsewhere**_

Asuna sat in her living room looking at the stars while she drank some tea. She suddenly felt extremely anger and the cup in her hand shattered. "Why do I feel so anger?"

Kirito walked up to Asuna's house and sighed. "Ugh, good thing she was only kidding. She such a hand full sometimes." Kirito said as she opened the door.

"Oh, Kirito. Why are you so late?" Asuna said as she was making her way to her bedroom.

"I was with Lis not too long ago."

"You hang out with her a lot, it's almost like you two are dating," Asuna said jokingly.

Kirito laughed nervously. "Y-Yeah... Anyways, why are you up so late?" Kirito tried to change the subject.

"I just finished some business with KoB an hour ago."

"Oh, you must be tired, you should try to get some rest," Kirito suggested.

"I was just about to go to sleep before you arrived," Asuna said.

"Okay, good night," Kirito said as she also made her way towards her bedroom. She opened the door and she took off her equipment before flopping on her bed. She let out a content sigh as she looked forward to this after training with Lis. This became much better after that tiring experience she got from Lis.


	5. CH 5: The Promise

**AN: I forgot which one is which right. Is it Lis or Liz? I forgot which one was the correct way for the shorter version of her name, it probably doesn't matter which one is right, anyways. I finally finished this chapter! It shouldn't have taken this long to finish. The reason why I took so long to update this was because I got stuck on one of the scenes and I didn't know how to continue it until now. As it took me longer to figure out what to write, the more I didn't want to write this chapter.**

* * *

Kirito wandered through the streets of floor 35 with Lis clinging onto her arm with a smile on her face. The whole time they were out everyone they passed by either glared at them or they had a confused look on their faces. Kirito had a small blush of embarrassment, being anti-social since you were a kid and getting this kind of attention would make anyone embarrassed or nervous. But she was quickly getting over that, you kind of have to, or else surviving in this world is going to be very difficult without the cooperation of others. _'I shouldn't be embarrassed by this. It's only love. It's a natural thing.'_

Lis looked at Kirito's embarrassed face and couldn't help smile a little. She didn't know why but it was pretty amusing to see her girlfriend's embarrassed face. "You know…" Kirito spoke up catching Lis' attention. "I never would've guessed, but you're rather clingy."

Lis got a little upset at Kirito's statement. "What? Is that a bad thing?"

"N-No… I guess not. I guess it's just way to show how much a person cares."

"We're in SAO, the game where you can die for real at any moment. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can, just in case you…" Lis paused momentarily realizing what she was just about to say. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean you're gonna- No, I know you're going to clear this game, I know it."

"You really have that much faith in me?"

"Yes. I'm your girlfriend, if I didn't believe and trust you, I wouldn't be good girlfriend now, would I?"

"I guess not."

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask this. But, why are they glaring at us?" Lis looked around noticing few people glaring at them, but most of them had a confused looked on their faces or didn't care.

"Them? Uh… did you ever hear about that player who's called a Beater?"

"Uh…" Lis tried to remember as that name did sound familiar. "Oh! That player! I heard he's a beta tester and he did not tell any of the players of the info he had on the first-floor boss that caused quite a few player's deaths."

"Y-Yes, _I_ didn't tell anyone…"

"Y-You? What do you mean by you?" Lis looked at Kirito for answers.

"That Beater is me… and I didn't tell anyone because we believed it would wield a certain weapon, but we were wrong…"

"W-What happened?"

"When we got the boss' health to a certain point, it would switch to a different weapon, but the weapon it pulled out was different than we originally thought. I was shocked by it, we weren't prepared for it. I tried to warn them, but the person leading everyone tried to get the last attack bonus and died shortly after. Everyone was too scared to move. I cost a lot of players lives, if I didn't stand there like an idiot maybe, just maybe, they would be here. If Asuna and I weren't there, I'm sure that entire raid party would've been wiped out."

"It isn't your fault, Kirito."

"No, it is my fault. I should have said something, but I didn't…"

"Stop being stupid. It's understandable, you were scared, too."

"I didn't say I was scared."

"Stop trying to act tough! It doesn't matter who you are, fighting boss is scary when you're in this game. You did everything you could."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"By the way, I have one more question."

"Ask away."

"Um, why are there people giving us confused looks?"

"Oh, uh, you know when we first met you mistook me as a guy?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, I dress this way so the male players won't bother me. After the first boss fight, everyone caught a glimpse of my figure because I always wore a cloak like Asuna, but it was mainly just to hide my appearance."

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain the confused looks."

"Well, now there's a rumor going around that I'm actually a girl and not a guy, even though it isn't really a rumor. I guess I should be happy about it. It was starting to get annoying when they found out I'm actually a girl. I guess the reason they look confused is because you're kinda clinging onto my arm, and I guess they didn't expect me or you to be into the same sex."

"Oh yeah! That reminds me of something I've been meaning to say."

"What were you going to say?"

"I'm not handing you over to anyone."

"What do you mean by 'hand over'?"

"I mean I'm not going to give you to anyone."

"What? You think there's someone else out there who's into me?"

* * *

_**Elsewhere**_

Asuna sipped her tea, enjoying the time she has left before she has to go and help clear the floor when she suddenly sneezed. "That came out of nowhere."

* * *

_**Back to Floor 35**_

"Come on! I can't be the only here, besides you, who's into the same sex."

"Okay, maybe you're not the only one, but besides, everybody mistakes me for a guy, remember?"

"Well, with that 'rumor' going around that's going to change."

"Okay, that's true, but I'm that beater nobody likes, remember?"

"There's not that many people glaring at you. Maybe they're coming around."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Most likely because of my work on the front lines. Oh, yeah, that reminds me."

"Of what?"

"I need to leave."

"Why?" Lis said, reluctant her to leave yet.

"Because, it's been almost six days since I've done anything to help clear the floor. Also, it's been six days since you done any smiting, hasn't it."

"Maybe…"

"Yeah, I thought so."

"But, I want to spend more time with you."

"I know you do, but I need to clear this game."

"I know clearing the game is important, but…"

"I have to clear this game. I want to meet the real you."

"Y-You really want to meet me after we beat the game?"

"Yes."

"A-Alright, but you're gonna have to promise me that you won't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Okay, but can you promise to keep me safe?"

"Keep you safe? But, how? I'm not as strong as you."

"There's a way. You don't have to be as strong as me to do it."

"Really? What then?"

"You just gotta make me the best equipment you can. If you do that, and when I wear it, I'll know I'm safe because you've put so much effort and love into that'll help keep me motivated to do my best to come back and see you."

"Okay, deal."

"Great! It's a promise!" Kirito gently took Lis' hand and led her to the teleporter. "Let's go back for now. I need to talk to Asuna. I have a feeling she might be mad at when I return home."

"Could you come visit me after you return from a dungeon?"

"Sure. I'll even tell you if there's anything that looks like it could be used for smiting."

"Okay, I'll see you later."

* * *

_**Asuna's House**_

Once Kirito arrived at Asuna's house she found her sitting down in the living room. Asuna turned towards the door with an annoyed expression on her face, and she knew exactly she's like this. Asuna stood up and marched over to Kirito. She stopped right in front of her before looking at her straight in the eyes. "Kirito! Where were you?!"

"I'm sorry." Kirito apologized.

"It's almost been two weeks since you did anything for the assault team!"

"I'm sorry." Kirito apologized again. "I was just with Lis."

"You've been hanging out with her a lot. Why?"

_'Is it okay to tell her the truth? Well, Lis has been openly affectionate when we're outside. Also, Asuna's a very close friend to me and Lis. I'll tell her.'_ Kirito thought. "Lis and I, we've been dating."

Asuna eyes widen at the information she had just received. "Wait, really?!"

"Y-Yes. Are you… weirded out by it?"

"N-No! I'm not! It's just I didn't think that was the reason you weren't helping us."

"So, you're not weirded out?"

"I just said no, didn't I? Besides, you told me your preference before. I was okay with it before and I'm still okay with it now."

"Okay."

"Are you sure you want to go back to the front lines? I don't want to get in the way of your relationship, but the game…"

"It's okay. Lis understands that I need to go back."

"Alright, you should go get some rest. We have a lot of work tomorrow."

Kirito nodded as she said goodnight to Asuna and went to her room. Asuna watched Kirito close her door. She placed her hand on her chest as a slight sadness filled her heart. _'Why am I sad? I should feel happy for them. But… why am I?'_


End file.
